Elliot Finley: 381 MSHA citations controller
MSHA controller ID: C15691
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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Elliot Finley controls.
- Fatalities
- 0
- Total incidents
- 12
- Mines on record
- 2
- Years on record
- 2008–2009
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2005
381
citations
94
significant & substantial
$587,847
proposed penalties
$298,643
paid to date
51% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $289,204 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
79
inspections on record
2,505
inspection hours
15.2
citations per 100 inspection hours
ⓘ
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.381 citations across 2,505 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
ⓘ
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.$588K
proposed penalties
$347K
current assessed
$299K
paid to date
$48K
outstanding
374 assessments are final orders; 18 contested dockets.
Of $497K in penalties contested before the Commission, $256K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2024-04-23.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
ⓘ
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.25.1%
significant & substantial
14.7%
high negligence or reckless
25.1%
reasonably likely or greater
10.7%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 1.6% low, 83.7% moderate, 14.7% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Health sampling
ⓘ
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.Respirable coal dust
ⓘ
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.
Last sampled: 2025-02-06
ⓘ
Respirable coal dust and silica figures cover coal facilities. Dust compliance is measured against the current 1.5 mg/m3 standard; samples predating the 2014 standard are included, so compliance rates are a coarse historical signal.100%
within 1.5 mg/m3
9
samples
0.14
dust max (mg/m3)
0
over MSHA ECV
ⓘ
The excessive concentration value (ECV) is MSHA's own per-sample enforcement threshold, which builds in measurement uncertainty; a sample over its ECV can trigger a citation. The count covers only samples MSHA assigned an ECV.5 samples taken by MSHA inspectors, 4 by the operator.
Most-sampled occupations
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER9
Silica (quartz)
Last sampled: 2024-04-2910.9
silica avg (%)
1
samples
10.9
silica max (%)
Most-sampled occupations
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER1
Noise
ⓘ
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.
Last sampled: 2025-02-06
ⓘ
The share counts noise samples whose measured dose exceeded the 90 dBA permissible exposure limit. It describes the sampled workplace, not what reached the miner's ear: hearing conservation programs and the hearing protection worn during the shift are recorded separately and are not reflected here.0%
over PEL
3
samples
Most-sampled occupations
- HIGHLIFT OPERATOR/FRONT END LOADER3
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly.
When citations were contested
ⓘ
Contesting a citation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is a lawful right. These figures state the public outcomes of that process, from MSHA's Contested Violations file.
76
citations taken to the federal commission · 20% of citations on record
- Settled 75 · 99%
- Stood as issued 1 · 1%
100%
S&S designation survived the contest
ⓘ
Counts a Significant & Substantial citation as surviving when a settlement or judge's decision kept the designation, or the contest was dismissed or defaulted so the citation stands as issued. Vacated and withdrawn citations, and settlements that removed the designation, count against.of 47 decided S&S contests · industry: 79%
48%
Penalty reduction in decided contests
$497K proposed, $256K after decisions · industry: 39%
Source: MSHA Contested Violations file (public record), updated weekly. A dismissed or defaulted contest leaves the citation standing as issued; a vacated or withdrawn citation is removed from the violation record. Latest contest filed 2014-02-11. Vacated and withdrawn citations are removed from the file this view attributes through, so that outcome is slightly undercounted here.
Contested penalties
ⓘ
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.Largest penalties this controller contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
| Docket | Decision | Judge | Year | Proposed / upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WEST 2009-596 | Settlement | Manning | 2010 | $343K → $174K |
| WEST 2009-192 | Settlement | Manning | 2010 | $53K → $31K |
| WEST 2009-665 | Settlement | Manning | 2010 | $31K → $8K |
| WEST 2009-117 | Settlement | Manning | 2010 | $22K → $13K |
| WEST 2010-468 | Settlement | Manning | 2010 | $8K → $5K |
| WEST 2014-0363 | Settlement | Manning | 2017 | $6K → $6K |
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.
Top causes
- HANDLING OF MATERIALS 4 non-fatal
- FALL OF ROOF OR BACK 3 non-fatal
- SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON 2 non-fatal
- FALL OF FACE/RIB/PILLAR/SIDE/HIGHWALL 1 non-fatal
- HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) 1 non-fatal
- POWERED HAULAGE 1 non-fatal
Incident timeline
2009
7
2008
5
Operators under this controller
Mines on record
For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants
Where Elliot Finley stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate
MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.
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